Gloomy science II: Ricardo

History of Economic Thought // Spring 2025

Prof. Santetti

marcio.santetti@emerson.edu

The backdrop

The backdrop


The “Age of Ricardo”: 1816—1846


Class conflict: landowners vs. capitalists

The corn laws

The corn laws

The corn laws


Redistribution of income towards landowners (rent)

At the expense of capitalists (profits)



After 1846:

  • The growing capitalist class takes control of the Parliament.

The intellectual background

The intellectual background

David Ricardo (1772—1823)

The intellectual background

The Essay on Profits (1815)

The intellectual background


  • Wages: tend to subsistence.

  • Rents: determined according to the difference in land fertility.

  • Profits: the residual after wages and rents are paid.


→ How do the Corn Laws influence the distribution of income?

The intellectual background


The long-run:

  • A “stationary state”

The intellectual background

Granger Collection, New York.

Malthus’s and Ricardo’s Principles

Malthus’s and Ricardo’s Principles

Principles of Political Economy and Taxation (1817)

Malthus’s and Ricardo’s Principles

Principles of Political Economy (1820)

Next time: J.S. Mill